Last month, the British government announced that unaccompanied children who are denied the right to stay can be deported back to their home country before reaching the age of 18. (See the BBC) This clearly denies children protection by sending them back to situations of forced conscription, sexual violence, and other conflict related traumas, when as children under the age of 18, they are much more vulnerable to these situations.
Moreover, children have particular needs that are not addressed during the asylum process, which is designed for adults. Though this law supposedly tried to take a more "compassionate" approach to asylum for children, the system is still set up in a way that denies children their rights under the CRC. The law also highlights issues surrounding age assessment. On the one hand, children have to come across as "children" in order to get more benefits, but at the same time they are forced to play down their own competencies.
It appears that Europe is increasingly homogenizing its policies with that of the US which has had a history of returning unaccompanied children to their home country regardless of age.
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